


The Song Sirens Sing

by TooBusyWriting



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe- Mermaids, Am I writing angst correctly???, Angst, Castle Kaufmann, F/M, Female Reader, Fighting while Injured, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mermaids and Pirates AU, Oops, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Sword Fighting, Violence, it's now a pirate ship, pirates love their rum, probably not, probs not (yet), tbh I just remembered Strucker had a whole arc in AOS, though I don't know if it's considered graphic, yayyyyy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 15:03:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15798981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooBusyWriting/pseuds/TooBusyWriting
Summary: Peter Parker’s life changes drastically when he joins a pirate crew. He learns new skills, meets new people, and has the time of his life. Then he meets a siren and his world once again turns upside down.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally requested by anon on Tumblr (mermaid reader part) and inspired by Alyssa’s AU nights (pirate part). I rewrote this at least 3 times this summer. School starts, and boom exactly 1 week later, here I am! I’m not sure how many parts it’ll be, but I have an idea of how it’ll end. Enjoy!!!

It's not often that a pirate ship finds itself in good standings with a country. However, the SS Avengers had managed to do so. After aligning with the royal prince while stopping a ransack, a strong connection had been formed between him and the co-captains. Turns out, saving each other's hides helps create a strong bond.

That was how Peter found himself on the ship, one month out at sea as they neared the kingdom. Despite the fact that he knew his aunt will be furious for sneaking on joining the crew, he quite enjoyed the place. After the stern talking to from the co-captains, that is. The crew gladly accepted him after all that was through.

Peter wondered what the kingdom of Wakanda was like. He’d heard the stories, just like every other citizen of Queens, where he was from. Tales of a weak country, only protected by the landscape, a third-world country despite the royal family’s best efforts. What good would they do for the Avengers? And what good would a pirate ship do for a small, underdeveloped country?

He watched the sky carefully from the crow’s nest. A storm was brewing. The sky, a blanket of dark clouds; the sea, slowly beginning to rough-house the ship, changing from the clear blue so well know into a deep black, whitecaps accenting the dark. “Captain!” he called down to the deck. “Storm’s coming! We needa prepare soon!”

“Thanks, kid!” came the response. Immediately, Stark scurried off to get the crew together. They’d all be needed to help adjust the sails.

After a few minutes, the whole crew was gathered. “Alright, Spidey. We need your help now. Time to come on down,” Stark called out. With that, Peter scampered down the rope, looking very much like the arachnid his nickname came from. Together, the crew worked, just in time. As soon as it was done, the rain hit. Hard. Bullets of rain pierced their skin, reaching the bone. The crew jostled Peter around as they made a break for the cabins. He did all he could to stay upright, resulting in him being the last one outside.

Seemingly from the sea, a beautiful sound broke through the thunder. It was exquisite, and Peter felt drawn to it. He wanted- no, needed- to find its source. To lay eyes upon what could only be a piece of heaven. It was coming from the sea, for sure. Now, if there was a way off this boat easily. He approached the ledge and his desires came true, for in front of him, swimming in the water was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

They made eye contact, and the singing stopped. And with it, the rain, not that Peter noticed. His senses were enraptured with the way her (H/C) hair cascaded down her (S/C) back. With the way that despite the rain, she seemed to glow. WIth the way her eyes gleamed.

She gave a small gasp and dove under the waves. Peter snapped back to his senses. He had one foot on the railing of the ship. Startled, he quickly got down, and then gave a good shake of his head. There was no way that was real.

At that moment, Tony came rushing out. “Kid, are you alright?”

Peter, in a dazed, barely noticed. “Yeah,” he half-heartedly mumbled.

Tony frowned and waved his hand in Peter’s face. “Hello? It sure doesn’t look like it. And when did it stop raining? That was way too short for what had been brewing.”

Looking up, Peter finally noticed. “Oh. I didn’t realize.” He paused. “Tony, there’s a girl in the water off the side of the ship.”

Understanding clicked in the co-captain’s mind. “Oh no, this isn’t good.” He grabbed Peter’s shoulder and steered him inside the cabin. “And you need some warm clothes.” Peter nodded, still in a haze.

“Rogers, we have a situation,” he said when he entered. He made sure to grab a set of clean clothes, a towel, and some candles to warm Peter up.

Steve watched with trained eyes before responding. “What happened?”

After sending Peter into a different room to change, he faced Steve. Straightening his shoulders, he said, “I think he’s had a run in with a siren.”

 

 

* * *

 

“I know this is your first sinking, but you’ll do great,” your mentor told you, her hands on your shoulders.

You smiled timidly at her. “Are you sure?”

“Of course! You just happened to have trained with the best siren in the sea!” Nat exclaimed, making you laugh, lightening the mood.

“Now, now, Tasha,” you heard a familiar voice call. “No need to get cocky.” Clint came into view, a blue blur visible not far behind him.

Natasha sighed, then turned to face Clint. “Bug off, Barton. That is unless you plan on learning how to sing properly within the next ten minutes.”

Clint grimaced, once again making you laugh. He was known for his marksmanship, not his singing, for good reason. Hearing him sing seemed to create the opposite effect of listening to a siren. He put his hand on his chest and deadpanned, “You wound me, (Y/N). We all know it’s an effective weapon against enemies.”

Natasha snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”

The blur of blue finally decided to stop, manifesting itself as the fastest mer in the ocean: Pietro Maximoff. He followed Clint around, mostly to annoy him, but also because they were friends whether they admitted it or not. “Ah, the sea urchin has arrived,” Clint announced.

Pietro looked around. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I see no urchins. I’m here to give my support for my lovely friend. What you’re here for, I have no idea.”

“Why can’t you just go bug Wanda?”

“I was. But she kicked me out, so now I bug you.”

Natasha cleared her throat. Good thinking, as they could argue like that for a week straight. “If you boys are done with another one of your ego contests, (Y/N) will have to leave soon. The ship’s getting real close.” Thankfully, Natasha was intimidating enough they felt the need to actually listen to her.

Your friends gave you their best wishes, and you and Natasha took off. The two of you swam with little discussion. Well, on your side. Natasha made sure to run through everything she’d taught you, making sure you’d remember. You would nod in agreement, making occasional comments. Trying to calm your sudden nerves, you watched as the surface came into view. The light drifted through the waves, making everything glow.

As you broke the surface, you realized just how blue the sky was. It was as vast as the sea, but it was also sprinkled with clouds, and was a different shade of blue. It was still stunning. Not many merfolk got to break surface often, and you were grateful your job allowed this opportunity.

A large, brown mass approached on the horizon. This, you knew, was your target. Natasha went over the steps one last time. “You’ll do great, kid. I’ll be close by, for once you’re done. We passed a small cave on our way here. Know what I’m talking about?”

You gave her an affirmation, and she smiled. “Come here,” she said, pulling you in for a hug. Happily, you returned it. “Thanks, Nat. For all your help.”

“No problem. Like I’ve said, you got this.” With a final goodbye and good luck, she dove under the surface again.  
Deep breath in. Exhale. Repeat. The mass looked more distinctly like a ship. It was time. You looked to the sky, cleared your throat, and began.

[“Into](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3tMmN87VdM) the sea/  
Hold you close to me/  
Slide ‘neath the waves/  
Down into the caves/  
Kiss me my love/  
Come rest in my arms/  
Dream your dreams with me/  
Slide beneath the sea/  
Come to me my love/  
Forget the land above.”

As you sang, you swam closer to the ship, attempting to make it more effective, brewing up a storm. The ship was nearing at the same time. You saw as the sailors set the sails and ran inside. Whether from the rain, or they could tell it was a siren-created storm, you didn’t know. You just repeated the song from the top when you finished.

There was one sailor left outside. He seemed to have been trampled by the others. Your song was working; he walked closer towards the edge of the ship and you.

Nerves bubbles in your stomach. You were about to drown this sailor. You could do it. IT wasn’t too bad, right? It was payback for all the mer they’d killed over the years. You tried your best to push through. You couldn’t let Natasha down. She believed you can do it.

He was finally close enough to get a good look at. You tried your hardest to push through, attempting to avoid the inevitable. Looking at him directly. “Slide ‘neath the waves/   
Down into the caves/ Kiss me my-”

He looked only about your age. There was no way you could kill him now! You locked eyes with him. They were a beautiful brown, and that just made the situation worse. The rain stopped with your voice- its source. The fabric of his shirt clung to his chest, not helping your case. His matted curls were also brown.

You gasped when you fully comprehended what was happening. Unable to continue now, you dove under the waves. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him take his foot off the edge, back into the ship. A sigh of relief escaped you. He was safe. You didn’t kill him. You turned and bolted back to Natasha’s hideout.

The emotions came crashing down. You attempted to kill a boy your age! And he was going to do it! He hadn’t even resisted! And you failed Natasha! She’ll never speak to you again! And the rest of your friends- they’ll think you a failure! Oh, now you were hysterical. Why didn’t anything go right? Why couldn’t the sailor have been some grimy old bachelor better off gone? Why had your life led to this?

Unsure of your surroundings, you rushed right past Natasha’s hideout and back to your original meeting area. You only came to your senses when you felt two arms grab you and wrap you in an embrace. “Woah, there, mică sirenă. What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Oh, Pietro! I’m a failure!” You sobbed into his chest while he tried to comfort you.

When you calmed down a bit, you noticed your friends surrounding you. Natasha, Pietro, Wanda, Clint, and the rest. They all stared at you. Some expectantly, some filled with pity, one or two with understanding, and some disappointed. “What happened?” Natasha asked.

You gulped. This was going to ruin your life. “I failed. I lured in a sailor and then let him go.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s Part 2! Honestly, a good chunk before the POV switch was done before I even posted Part 1. And now, I’ve got a chunk of Part 3 done before I uploaded this one! This time, the pirate side is narrated from Rhodey’s POV, though I’m not quite sure how that happened. It works, though! Enjoy! (Leave constructive criticism and/or theories about future parts, please!!)

Steve paced back and forth across the room. This was not good. This was not good at all. The crew watched, tense. Things were not going to end well. The silence was deafening, leaving the crew wondering how he’d react.

 

After a few intense minutes, he spoke. “This wouldn’t be a problem if you explained why we take cover for obviously siren-made storms, Stark. Or even explained how we can tell it’s a siren-created storm.”

 

Tony gave him a look before responding. “We haven’t seen one in months and we’re only a day or so away from Wakanda. I thought it wasn’t necessary. And there’s the fact that I’ve been teaching him about every other aspect of being a pirate. I  _ was _ going to get to it, I just haven’t found the right time.” 

 

Steve thought it over. “You’re off the hook this once, Stark. But only because we’re so close to Wakanda. You seem certain they’ll have a cure for Siren Sickness.” He glanced at the crew. “Your job is to make sure Peter doesn’t worsen, as well as your regular duties. Dismissed.”

 

The crew dispersed, understanding that their captains needed to talk out the situation without dozens of eyes gazing upon them. Rhodes stayed behind, lingering by Tony. “Is it true?” 

he asked.

 

“You gotta be specific, platypus,” Tony replied. 

 

“Are we only a day from Wakanda?”

 

Tony nodded. “If my calculations are correct- and they usually are.”   
  


Rhodey smiled. “That’s all I needed. Now, don’t kill yourself.” With that, he left the room and headed to Peter’s quarters. It wasn’t too far from the cabin. Just a hop, skip, and a jump. Easily, he found the room and walked in. 

 

Bruce was by Peter’s side when Rhodey walked in. He stood up. “Hey!” he greeted. “I guess my shift is done?”

 

Rhodey nodded to him. To Peter, he said, “Hey Spider-Man! How’s it going?”   
  


There were four stages of Siren Sickness. First, right after the sailor survived the sinking, they appear dazed, confused, and in a state of shock. Not much can be done at this point beside break the news to the sailor and keep him up to date. This lasts for a few hours. 

 

Second comes the actual illness. Symptoms are similar to the flu, so sailors must be cautious to not misdiagnose. If treated properly, the sailor will take weeks to pass to the next stage. If not, only a matter of days. Proper treatment includes all done for the flu, and secluding the sailor from any sight of the ocean. This assures that the sailor will not quickly descend into the third step.

 

The third step turns the disease fatal. Along with the flu-like symptoms, the sailor starts to go insane. They start to hallucinate the siren singing again, and feel drawn to the ocean. It is necessary to restrain the sailor at this point to secure their survival. As they start to hear imaginary sirens, they begin to sleep walk towards the ocean. Subconsciously, the survival of the sailor turns to becoming one with the sea. Not doing so would result in a fate worse than death, it seems to them. However, that is entirely untrue. Well, maybe the fate worse than death is accurate, but not much else the subconscious mind dreams up. 

 

A fate worse than death is a kind way to put it. On top of the previous symptoms, the sailor’s vital organs shut down one by one. To review, that’s flu-like symptoms, a subconscious urge to drown oneself, and hallucinations with vital organs failing. Treating symptoms can drag it into a long and painful death, but by this point, most friends and family choose to stop and let them pass quickly. While gruesome, it’s the easier choice than to watch them suffer longer than necessary. 

 

There is no known cure for Siren Sickness. Not in Queens, Brooklyn, Sokovia, Manhattan, or any of the other kingdoms that side of the Marvel Ocean. All sailors to ever contract it died. It was just a matter of how fast. 

 

Tony knew this. Steve knew this. Rhodey knew this. Heck, even Peter understood the basics. The whole crew did. But Tony’s hope that Wakanda had a cure was still taken seriously. It seemed against the odds for those who’d never visited before. But they knew to trust their captain. He was a futurist, and he believed it, so it was bound to be true, right?

 

Peter, thankfully, was only at step two. The crew rotated who watched over him in his quarters. Nice and safe from any ocean view. They also understood that “make sure Peter doesn’t worsen” meant to do all they could to keep him at step two before they reached Wakanda.

 

Peter smiled at the sound of his nickname. “Not all that bad, all things considered. How’re you, War Machine?” Like the rest of the crew, Rhodey got his nickname from reputation. War Machine showed he did the best work with cannons.  

 

“Oh, not that bad. Trying to keep Tony alive as usual. And trying to make sure Cap doesn’t kill him over what happened.”

 

Peter grimaced. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

 

Rhodey waved him off. “It’s not your fault, kid. Even when we think it’s a siren-created storm, it’s still only about a fifty-fifty chance it actually is one. And really, the only way we can guess if it is is if the storm brews faster than expected. The flaw with that logic is that that can happen naturally as well.” As Peter was a lover of science, they launched into a full-fledged conversation on mermaids, sirens, and how their so-called magical abilities mess with the laws of nature. Though, Rhodey had to admit, this conversation was probably better suited for Tony, who knew more about that field of science. Not that he was complaining. Anyone who knew Peter was a lucky person. Rhodey just so happened to know more about rocket science.

 

After a while, Sam came in, quite reluctantly. Everyone heard him complain about there being a teenager on board with Bucky, but they all knew that the two secretly adored him. Rhodey took that as his cue to leave. “It was nice talking to you, Peter. Next time I see you, it’ll hopefully be when we’re in Wakanda’s port. We shouldn’t be too far now.”

 

Peter perked up. “Really? Already?! Wow! Thanks, Rhodey!” Before he could talk more, Sam started teasing him about how excited he was, effectively drawing attention away from Rhodey. He left the room and headed back to the cabin to see if the co-captains had killed each other yet. 

 

However, when he walked in, Tony immediately pushed him out, walking past him. “Get the crew together. We’re only about half a mile away from the port. He looked out at the horizon, and sure enough, the skyline of the country was clearly visible. “Oh, and while you’re at it, inform Falcon we’re close, so he’ll know when he needs to blindfold Peter.”

 

“I’m on it. And how did the talk with Rogers go?”

 

“Oh, it was great. The usual passive-aggressive comments, normal aggressive comments, and somehow coming to a peaceful agreement in the end that we always do,” Tony answered casually. 

 

“Great. Glad to know my attempts to keep you alive aren’t for nothing,” Rhodey joked back.

 

“Yeah, I stick around just to make sure you have something to do. That’s why I’m going to haunt you after I die,” Tony said, and they both laughed. They realized they had come to a standstill a moment later. “Alright, now listen to me and get going.”

 

“Aye aye, captain.”

 

“Rhodes! What have I told you about that?!” With a laugh, he walked off to finally do so. 

 

* * *

 

The reef was bursting with colors. Color popped everywhere you looked. Bright pinks, reds, yellows, oranges, blues, purples. You name it, it was probably there. There were fish swimming around excitedly, from one place to another. Crabs crawled over the coral. A few seahorses could be seen here and there, swimming amongst the sponges and seaweed. Overall, it was a lively place that seemed to ooze happiness. 

 

You weren’t quite sure why you were here. Your feelings definitely didn’t match the one of the coral reef. But it was a mostly private place. Few mer came here, as it was so close to the shoreline and a long swim out from the mer city. As far as you knew, only a couple other mer knew about it, and they were your friends. Hopefully they didn’t try to come find you, or worse, try to console you again.

 

You sat on a rock with your thoughts and just watched the activity. You couldn’t help but wonder how much easier it would be to be a seahorse. Nobody would bother you about being a siren. And half the mer population wouldn’t be mad at you with the other half telling you, “Don’t listen to them. It’s not the first time this has happened, and it was your first sinking. You can always try again.” 

 

Even being a human would be easier than this. Not because they had legs, though. You loved your (F/C) tail too much to let that go. No, it would be easier because then you wouldn’t have to deal with magical abilities. You wouldn’t have to think or even know about Wanda’s telekinesis and mind reading, or Pietro’s supernatural speed. You wouldn’t have to deal with Natasha’s literally killer singing voice, or the fact that you had one of your own that everyone was trying to train. Humans had it easier. None of them had powers. Everyone was equal that way. Nobody would be trying to tell you it’s necessary to use your power because nobody has any powers. You’d be able to live magic-free, blissfully unaware of any kind of magic besides sirens. 

 

You could hear a rustling in the distance. Barnacles. That meant that one of your friends had found you. Why couldn’t they just let you sit alone with your thoughts for a few hours? That’s all you really needed. 

 

“Prietenul meu, I know you’re here,” you heard from the distance. Ah, so it was Wanda. Prietenul meu meant “my friend” where she and Pietro were from. However, he called you mică sirenă, or little siren, mostly as a jest towards your training with Natasha. “Where are you? I need to talk with you, surată.”

 

With a sigh, you rose your hand. “I’m over here.” 

 

Wanda quickly made her way over. She looked at you for a moment. “Is it okay if I sit next to you?”

 

You simply shrugged your shoulders. “I guess.” With that, Wanda did so. She didn’t impose on you. She sat there, and looked at the reef with you. You were grateful for what she was doing. She was there as support, and understood when not to talk better than most people. That was when you realized something. “You’re reading my mind, aren’t you?”   
  


Wanda looked offended. “I would never!” You gave her a pointed look. She gave up the effort. “Okay, maybe just a little. I just needed to know how you needed me to help best.” 

 

“And you were doing just that by being quiet.”

 

“Yes, I know that. That’s why I stayed quiet after checking,” she said, giving your side a poke.

 

You squirmed away a bit. “Oh.” You were silent for a moment. “Is there another reason you’re here?” you asked. 

 

“What, I’m not allowed to hang out with my friends without having an ulterior motive?” Once again, she pretended to look offended. She really was trying to either push your buttons today or make you laugh. Luckily for her, you just laughed. 

 

“Wanda, I know when you hang out with me for fun and when you hang out with me to try to get something out of me. I’ve been your friend for how long now?” She smiled at the fact that she got you to cheer up a bit. “I still remember the day you decided to be really sweet with me and Nat just to introduce us to Pietro that night.”

 

You both laughed at the memory, now that the embarrassing moments seemed a lot tamer. “You got me there. Remind me later that I need to change my methods. Anyway, I have someone else that you need to met.” You opened your mouth to protest, but she cut you off first. “No, this will not be a repeat of the Pietro Incident. She’s definitely calmer than he is. You’re really going to like her.”

 

You thought it over for a moment. “You better not be lying to me, Wanda. Okay, lead the way.” 

 

You both got off the rock, making sure not to hit the nearby fish. She grabbed your arm, and led the way. As you swam, you joked around together, and though you’d rather not admit it, you were feeling better now that you weren’t sulking about your life on a rock in the middle of a bunch of coral. 

 

You ended up swimming to the mer city, and even further past it. You were surprise. Was Wanda trying to wear you out? Why was it so far away? Then you realized she was bringing you closer to the shoreline and a different coral reef. You stopped in your tracks. “No no no no no. I am not getting close to more sailors.” 

 

Wanda frowned. “That wasn’t my intention, I promise. Please, just trust me. It’s only a little bit farther. We’re only going over here because she doesn’t live in our mer city. She lives in another one, and this is the halfway point.” She gently tugged on your arm, hoping to convince you. 

 

You decided to trust her. “Just this once. If you really are lying to me, I’m telling Nat.”

 

She nodded in agreement. “A fair trade.” With that, the two of you started up again. 

 

You only had to swim a bit farther before you reached your destination: a cave hidden by a small gathering of seaweed. Wanda parted it, and you swam through. It was a decently sized cave. Big enough for ten mer at the most. In the middle of the room was a mer with dark skin, a dark green tail, and a matching green top. She smiled at you. “I’m glad you two could make it.”

 

Wanda smiled back at her. “And I’m glad we were able to get here in time. As I’ve said, this is my friend, (Y/N). (Y/N), she agreed to help you out with a few things. Not siren stuff, unless you want to. She’s here to give advice on other stuff I know you have questions about.” 

 

The mermaid stuck her hand out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nakia."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! This chapter ended up being longer than I expected it to be. This is mostly from Peter's POV this time. I don't really have anything else to add. So, hope you guys enjoy it!

Peter stumbled a bit as Tony guided him off the ship. He knew they had landed in Wakanda; he had been told by Rhodey not too long before a blindfold was put over his face. He could hear the crowds around the port, the usual hustle and bustle of any port, but in a different language. “Sorry, Pete. Watch your step. Well, as best as you can blind.”

 

Not for the first time in the past few minutes, Peter wished that the third stage of Siren Sickness couldn’t be induced by seeing the ocean. Apparently being on the ocean was fine, and even hearing the ocean. But for some reason, the act of  _seeing_ the ocean made all the difference. Diseases were weird, and Peter was glad he hadn’t tried to become an epidemiologist.

 

Tony careful lead the way onto the dock, doing his best to make sure Peter didn’t fall. He felt as his mentor carefully maneuvered him around people, and over to a vehicle. “Okay, kid. I’m gonna have to either lift you up or trust you to get the step on the first time. I don’t exactly trust you to make it blindfolded, so we gotta go with the first option, alright?”  


Peter nodded. “Got it.” He felt two hands carefully grab his own arms, and hoist him up high into the air and into said vehicle. Peter frowned. “Are you sure that was you, Tony? I’m pretty sure you can’t lift me that high.”

 

“Alright, alright, you got me,” Tony conceded. “I had Thor do it. He _is_ the strongest here, after all.” He heard Thor laugh in the background. Peter opened his mouth to talk. “Oh, and before you ask, the blindfold isn’t coming off until we’re at least fifteen minutes out. Just to make sure there’s not even a sliver of the ocean on the horizon.”

 

Peter closed his mouth, then promptly opened it again when he thought of something else. “Where is the rest of the crew?”

 

Tony climbed into the vehicle and sat down next to him. “They are split between getting our supplies over to more vehicles to transport to the palace, cleaning the ship, and in the vehicle behind us to be part of our welcome committee.”

 

They rode in silence for a few minutes, before something beeped. “Ah, we’re okay to take the blindfold off now.” The piece of fabric fell from Peter’s eyes, and he blinked, trying to adjust to the light. After a few seconds, he was able to make out Tony clearly once again.

 

A gasp escaped him when he looked to the side and saw the scenery. Lush greens were everywhere. Sure, they had forests in Queens, but they weren’t that large. Here, there were giant trees, and things Peter couldn’t even begin to describe. It was nothing like he’d ever seen before.

 

“You like it?” Tony asked. Peter could only nod, too astonished for words. “Just wait till you see the city. It’s even more shocking.”

 

The rest of the ride went rather smoothly. Even though Peter already had a fever and the heat felt like it was making it worse, and he kept sneezing and coughing, he had a great time. Talking with Tony was one of his favorite things to do. He always kept their conversations interesting, though Tony would probably say the same thing about Peter.

 

Finally, they entered the city. True to Tony’s word, Peter was in awe once again. So much for Wakanda being a third world country. They seemed even more advanced than anything he’d ever seen across the Marvel Ocean. Buildings reached the sky, higher than Peter thought was structurally capable. People on the ground used all kinds of small, personal vehicles he’d never even been able to imagine. Everything was so different, it was amazing. How could they have a reputation for being so poor when they so obviously were the richest kingdom in the world?

 

Before Peter knew it, they pulled up to the palace. Peter hopped on out of the vehicle the best he could without stumbling. Unfortunately, he failed, and stumbled into Cap. Cap just chuckled and helped straighten him. “I know just how you feel, kid. I used to be sick all the time, myself, when I was your age.”

 

“Really?” That was another unbelievable thing that hit him. There was no way the six foot, muscular captain of a pirate ship used to be sick all the time. All these bombshells were getting to be too much for Peter. He was afraid that if he got another one soon he’d faint.

 

“Yep,” Steve replied. “Buck can attest for it. We grew up together, after all.” Peter looked over at Bucky, and sure enough, he nodded in response.

 

The group then made their way inside, escorted by guards, towards the council room. It wasn’t too far of a walk, but it felt longer with how much Peter was starstruck by all the technology.  

 

They came to a stop right in front of the doors. Apparently, they had to be announced first. One guard slipped through the door, and the group stood there patiently. After a minute, the door opened. “May I present, the loyal pirates of the SS Avengers!” Right on cue, it appeared, Peter sneezed. Loudly.

 

He looked up, cheeks flushed. “Uh, excuse me?” he said meekly when no one offered up a ‘Bless you.’ His blush deepened when he realized that the king, his mother, his younger sister, and their whole council was staring at him.

 

A second later, the princess burst out laughing. “Ah, so this must be who the message you sent ahead was about, Stark.” Everyone else laughed, either because they got what she was talking about, or because they felt uncomfortable not doing so. Peter stood there awkwardly. Did the princess seriously just laugh at him?

 

Tony chuckled a bit. “Yes, this is him. I’m glad to report that he is safely only in phase two. We got him here as safely as we could.” Wait, what? Tony was in on this? Oh, wait a second, he thought. They’re talking about the Siren Sickness. That made Peter feel better and less embarrassed now that he knew they knew.

 

The king stood up, quieting his sister. “Shuri, that’s enough now. Stark, Rogers, it’s good to see you again. You see, we need all the help we can get on this project, and we don’t have many allies at all. I’m glad you could make it on time. Shuri, please escort this boy to the medical wing. He surely needs it.”

 

Shuri did as commanded. When she reached him, he stuck out his hand. “I’m Peter. I, uh, thought you’d like to know, since you know everyone else on the crew.”

 

She stared at his hand for a moment. Once again embarrassed, he retracted it. “Sorry, that was rude. But I’m not shaking hands with you while your sick. I don’t need to catch my own sickness.”

 

Peter gasped lightly. “Oh, yeah. That makes since. Sorry.”

 

Shuri accepted his apology, and certified that he accepted hers. Then, they took off down the hall. He was lead through a maze of hallways, all lined with insane technology. Along the way, Shuri pointed out a few, saying when she designed them, what they did, and where it’s improvement was located.

 

Once they reached the medical wing, Shuri set to work. The procedure was mainly painless, besides two shots, but by the end of the half hour, he felt as good as he had when he first boarded the ship. “That should do it. You’re free,” she announced. “Though, there is one problem with it that I’ve been trying to work out. If you see the siren again, it might come back. You’re fine if it’s just a mer or any other siren. Just not the original one. I gave you our most recent version of the vaccine, so hopefully you don’t die. No promises, though.”

 

Despite the dark meaning behind her final words, she said them playfully, like she had seen enough sailors survive Siren Sickness to know it would work. Which she probably had.

 

“Well, I think I’ll be fine. After all, this is a far better treatment than I would’ve gotten at home. We still don’t have anything even close to a cure.”  That launched them into a full-fledged conversation about science, a seemingly common aspect in Peter’s life nowadays. He surprised Shuri with how much he knew, which he was proud of.

 

Soon enough, they headed back to the throne room to meet up with the others again. “I’m getting rather hungry,” Shuri admitted, “and if I don’t stop them now, we won’t eat with them all week.”

 

 

* * *

 

Dinner was absolutely delicious. The kitchen provided an authentic Wakandan meal for the crew to eat, all of them having finished their various jobs and gone to the palace. It was a wide array of food, featuring pieces from all of the tribes.

 

“So, Parker, has anyone told you how Steve got to be called Captain America?” T’Challa asked Peter. As his mouth was full of food and he didn’t want to seem impolite, he shook his head. He only knew how certain people got their reputations, and Steve was not one of them.

 

“Ah, well I guess I must tell it for you, then.” T’Challa replied. “Did you know that he comes from the kingdom of Brooklyn?” At this, Peter nodded. “Well, he had a ship of his own sailors on his ship. Can you guess what his ship’s name was?”

 

“I have no idea,” Peter answered, having swallowed his food.

 

T’Challa smiled at him warmly. Who knew that the king of Wakanda would warm up to a teenager so quickly after putting up with Shuri for all her life? “It was called the SS America. He got the name because of his reputation of being the captain of one of the fiercest pirate ships. Captain of The America got shorted to Captain America.”

 

Steve chuckled softly. “That’s a nice way of putting how I got it. I didn’t necessarily want it, but it stuck, and now I actually kinda like it now. Originally, though, it was just Buck making fun of the rumors about the crew.”

 

Bucky nodded enthusiastically. “You should’ve heard the stuff they would say! Absolutely hilarious! Especially the part about how Steve must’ve been a giant kid that grew up in Manhattan. Couldn’t have been farther from the truth. And I know this because I saw it with my own two eyes: he was a skinny little piece of seaweed that picked fights with everyone.”

 

“Only difference now is he’s a more like a walking wall that picks fights with everyone,” Tony chimed in. The whole crew agreed, laughing when Steve grunted in response.

 

Before anyone could explain how Steve, Tony, and T’Challa started to team up, T’Challa stood up when the noise levels dropped. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have something I need to do. King duties and all.”

 

As he left, Shuri snorted. “‘King duties’,” she said, making quotation marks with her hands. “As if. He’s for sure off to go see his girlfriend. Don’t forget that I know all your secrets!” she called after him.

 

“Not all of them!” he called back from the hallway, making the hall burst into laughter once again.

 

* * *

 

 

Nakia waited just below the water, watching as the sun set in an array of reds, oranges, pinks, and purples. The moon was just starting to peek out from between some stray clouds. Together, their light made the ocean sparkle. She carefully watched the dock for her king. The sailors on the dock were either packing up for the day, or packing up ships to sail at midnight. Nothing too odd was going on, which was also a good sign.

 

Soon enough, she could see him. He carefully walked through the crowds, which gave him the respect he’d received as king. Used to his late night walks, they continued about their business when T’Challa deemed it unnecessary for them to salute or bow or do anything else they thought proper.

 

Slowly, once out of the view of the sailors, he climbed down the shore towards the water. To anyone else, it would look like he was relaxing with his feet in the water. Which he was, but Nakia knew better than that. She swam over, and made sure to make as little noise as possible as she rose from the water.

 

“Nakia,” he addressed with a nod of his head. “Any new news?”  


“Yes,” she responded. “Though I’m not quite sure if it’s all relevant to you.”

 

He nodded in understanding. “Might as well see if it is. Go one.” With that, Nakia told him about her recent escapades, and how her work was coming along. When she finished, he sat in though.

 

“T’Challa?’ she questioned. She wasn’t sure what his reaction to this news would be, once he showed one. But the fact that he was currently silent showed that it was relevant after all.

 

“I think this might be relevant in particular to someone we met today,” he finally responded. “Though it is only suspicions. Can you help me sort this out?”  


Nakia smiled slightly. “I would be honored, if it doesn’t draw away too much of my time from my missions.”

 

“It won’t, I’ll try to make sure of that.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while since I last updated! Homework is killing me (yay junior year). This is honestly the longest thing I've ever written. I thought I wrote a lot with -insert bug pun here-, but this is like 1k more than that. It was a total of 9 pages on Google Docs! Hope you guys enjoy!

Nakia had successfully lifted your mood from that dreary day by the coral. She gave you answers to questions most people wouldn’t let you know about. For example, she had been to the surface a bit due to her job (which was one of the only secrets keep from you), and she was able to tell you all about it. She apparently saw humans quite frequently and told you what an odd species they are. Of course, this piqued your curiosity. And also drew you away from wanting to be a siren.

 

Everyone was still pushing you to train more so you could try again with a different ship. Well, mostly everyone. The twins and Clint supported your decision to take a break and gladly spent lots of time hanging out with you. Nakia encouraged it, saying it was better for your mental health that way. Natasha understood, but was slightly disappointed. She’d rather resume your lessons but gave you the space you needed. It was a shame. She was one of your closest friends, and she was actively avoiding you now. Oh well. If that’s what she thought was best.

 

“Zo,” Clint announced, mouth full of seaweed-wrapped shrimp. “Duu oou davva o ta dhe urfaks umellow?”

 

Wanda wrinkled her nose at him. “You are disgusting. Has anyone ever told you it’s impolite to speak with your mouth full?”

 

Clint swallowed his food and spoke again. “Well, considering we’re not very polite to each other in any way, shape, or form at times, I thought it was okay.”

 

“That’s not a good excuse,” Wanda replied.

 

“Yeah,” you chimed in. “Just ‘cause you and Pietro bully each other doesn’t mean the rest of us bully each other.”

 

He pointed an accusing finger at you. “I call your bluff. Nat bullies me all the time, and you personally have picked on me before.”

 

You shrugged your shoulders. “Okay, so maybe we decided as a group to bully you. But that still doesn’t mean we bully each other. What were you trying to say, anyway?”

“I was saying-” Clint cut himself off. “Wait, what do you mean you decided as a group to bully me?”

 

“Unimportant. Now tell us.” Wanda shrugged off his question with ease you wished you could have.

 

He let out a huff. “Fine. I’ll ask Nat later. As I was saying- do you wanna go to the surface tomorrow?” He pointedly looked at you, like he knew you were about to protest. Which you were.

 

And before you could respond to his look, Pietro spoke up. “What is so interesting that we’d have to go to the surface?”

 

You silently thanked Pietro. For once, he understood. “Well, you see,” Clint began to explain. “It’s something one of a kind. But we’d have to go to the shoreline, too.”

 

Before anyone could speak for you, you voiced your own opinion. “No way. The shoreline? You’d have a hard enough time getting me to go to the surface. But the shoreline!? Where the _humans_ live? Nope. Nada. Hasta la vista. See you never because I’d rather go into hiding than be forced to come with.”

 

Your friends laughed at your actions. “Aw, come on, (Y/N). Is there any possible way to get you to come with?” Clint begged.

 

You hesitated. There were a few exceptions, but you doubt it’d be any or if Clint would even be able to guess any of them correctly. He, annoyingly, noticed. “That’s a yes. Now, let’s see. Hey, Wanda. My super great, amazing, wonderful- ha, Wandaful- friend who just so happens to be able to read minds. Could you help me out here?”

 

Wanda gave a little laugh at that. “Bribery does not work on me, Clinton.”

 

“It was worth a shot.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Give me a second, and I’ll have it figured out by myself.” You waited patiently, seeing what he’d come up with. Sure enough, he came to the realization that just telling you might help.

 

“Okay,” he said. “Might as well tell you. I wanna go because, first of all, the sunset looks prettier above the water-”

 

“Yeah right,” Pietro interrupted. “We all know you only said that because it might convince her.”

 

Clint turned to look at him quickly, raising an accusatory finger. He turned so fast, you were almost convinced he was the speedster and not Pietro. “Stop that! It’s not cool!” He turned back, this time looking more like himself. “As I was saying,” he said, agitated, “the second reason why I want to go to the surface is because I was promised I’d be able to try coffee by someone else- who shall remain unnamed- and we won’t be the only ones there.”

 

When you continued to look unimpressed, he continued. “Okay, third, I wanna go because I wanna talk to my friends and I want you to meet some of them.”

 

You pretended to be shocked. “You have friends other than us? Why. Clint, I didn’t know you were capable of such a thing. I surely thought that when you weren’t with us you would just sit around and cry.”

 

Clint huffed at you. “I’m really getting sick of this whole ‘pick on Clint’ thing you guys enjoy so much. News flash, it’s not fun for me. And yes, I am capable. They were my friends before I met you.” He crossed his arms across his chest.

 

He looked sincerely upset. “I’m sorry, Clint. I’ll try to do it less often if it’ll help you feel better,” you apologized.

 

He hummed while thinking for a second. “I’ll think about accepting your apology more later,” he said in a joking tone. “But really, I want you to come do some more stuff, meet more people. Even if you have to step a bit outside of your comfort zone to make it happen.”

 

Wanda and Pietro nodded, adding a bit of their own input. It seemed like all your friends were ganging up against you, trying to get you to go. When you finally appeared to be swaying back and forth between going and not going, Clint decided to use his last bit of persuasion.

 

“You know,” he said cautiously, “if you go, you’ll not only get to meet some of my friends, you’ll get to meet- and I quote you- ‘the mysterious Coulson’ I always talk about.

 

That definitely grabbed your attention. Meet Coulson? Yes, you were going for sure. “Alright,” you announced. “I’ll come with.” At your words, your friends all cheered. Who knew they’d be this excited about you going out for once. “What time should I be ready by?”

 

“The festivities will take place around dinner time and last after sunset. So I’d say around noon? It’s quite the swim,” Clint responded.

 

You nodded, taking in the information. “Thanks. I’ll try to be  ready by then, I guess.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“No. I don’t care that they’re ‘civilized.’ I’m not going to let Pete go. You said yourself that he might get sick again if he so happens to the one that did it to him. And what if she’s there? I’m not risking it. We don’t need to lose a sailor, especially not one who’s so young.”

 

“But that’s the thing, Stark. I said _might._ So far, research has shown that when the sailor does see them again, there is only a one in twenty chance that he will get sick again. And you know what we do then? We give him the treatment again, assign him to a month in the middle of the country, and once it’s up, we send him on his way again. He’ll be fine.”

 

“Why do you guys even have a festival on the beach with mermaids, anyways?” Scott spoke up.

 

Shuri sighed. “I thought I already explained it. It’s part of our cultural festivities, and we’d appreciate if our guests could join us. But it seems you are too stubborn, so I might just have T’Challa ban your whole crew from our nation for such an insult.”

 

She got an automatic reaction in response. “No, no. That’s not necessary. I guess we’re all going, right crew? Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!” Tony said with forced enthusiasm. It was quite the spectacle. “But seriously, after tonight, we need to head back. We helped you with your business. We have to get back to pirating.”

 

“You’ll have to talk to my brother about that,” she responded. Almost as if on cue, T’Challa walked in to the room. “And look at that! That is my cue to leave. Goodbye, Avengers. Don’t let my brother harass you too long. I have some more improvements I need to work on.” She turned on her heel and walked out of the room briskly.

 

Well, there was no doubting it anymore. Two co-captains well into their life were frightened by a sixteen year old genius princess. Who’d guess that’d be a fact they’d ever have to expect? Tony was very glad he made the decision to head back to sea the next day. While it was nice to sit around and plan things for a while, he was missing his ship. And the sea. And not having to deal with humanity other than the however many crew members they currently held. Yeah, he was longing for that.

 

He got up slowly. If Spiderling was being dragged along, no matter how much he disagreed, he’d have to go inform him of such a matter. _Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay. Wonderful feeling, wonderful day_ my eye, he thought.

 

* * *

 

 

 

You waited on a rock in the midst of buildings, waiting for the rest of your friends to show up. The ocean was alive all around you. You watched as fish, mers, and (animals) alike raced back and forth through the streets. If only Clint would hurry up. You knew he had a habit of oversleeping, but it was well past noon. Where could he be?

 

To your advantage, he showed up right then, almost as if beckoned by your thoughts. “Huh,” you whispered. Louder, you said, “Hey Clint, since when were you a mind reader”

 

“What?” He looked befuddled.

 

“I was just wondering where you were, and then you popped out of nowhere,” you replied.

 

He chuckled. “No, I’m not. I can promise you that. I was making sure I had everything,” he gestured to the bags he was carrying, “when I realized I had to make a stop to grab a few.”

 

You got up and swam towards him. “Well, now that’s all sorted out, everyone else is close, right? Let’s catch up to them.” You started to head off when you remembered you didn’t know quite where you were supposed to be going. Stopping in your tracks, you turned around.

 

Clint caught up, but he didn’t answer your question. With some insistence from you, he relented. “They all left beforehand.” When you started to sputter, he cut you off. “They already knew since they agreed to go before you did. And because they don’t trust me to get there on time. So, come on; we have to prove them wrong!” He took off, speeding ahead of you.

 

“Hey! Not fair!” you called after him before starting off yourself. As fast as the two of you went, you made it to the shoreline in no time. All you had to do was follow Clint. It’s not like trying to follow Pietro, after all. Clint was generally a lot slower than the speedster. Clint was waiting for you to catch up after he came to a stop.

 

“This is it,” he said, confirming your thoughts. From the looks of it, you were at a human dock. There were giant poles sticking into the ground, some covered in algae, but mostly looking rather sturdy and brown. What appeared to be the bottoms of ships floated along it. As you noticed this, you gulped.

 

You took a deep breath, trying to center yourself. “Okay. I guess I ought to give it a try.” You nodded at him, and he paused for a second before nodding back.

 

“If you ever feel overwhelmed, make sure to find me, Nat, Wanda, Pietro, or Nakia,” he

said, swimming over to you.

 

“Nakia’s here?” you questioned. “Nobody told me that.”

 

Clint gave you a sheepish smile. “Uh, yeah. Sorry? Oops.” He grabbed your arm and started to pull you up to the surface with him.  

 

You had no idea what you were getting yourself into.

 

The dock was swarming with humans. Around the edges, mers laughed, joked, conversed, and even arm wrestled with them. It definitely was a party of some sort. You couldn’t believe your eyes? How did humans and mers get along so well? You had grown up with stories of the two species hating each other. How did this happen? A quick glance informed you of the twins joking around with a woman with a brunette angled bob, Nat was observing to the side, and Nakia was talking with a tall man who held himself with a sense of awareness.

 

Clint noticed your awe and confusion. “There’s an organization that works with mer and human interactions. They helped plan this, don’t worry. Actually, I should introduce you to a few of them. See if you’re interested in joining.” With your permission, the two of you took off.

 

He lead you towards the dock, carefully avoiding the other mers. He seemed to have one set person in mind. Eventually, he lead you to a man who, despite the heat, was wearing a suit and tie. The man had thinning hair, and looked as if he was always busy, but somehow gave off the feel of being everyone’s friend.

 

Sure enough, Clint swam right up to him, dragging you with him. Just in time, the man ended his conversation with the woman next to him. She moved on to talk to someone else, and he faced Clint. “Barton!” he exclaimed. “Long time, no see!”

 

“Sure has been, Coulson!” Clint replied, excited to see his friend again.

 

“Wait, _that’s_ Coulson?” you asked, astonished. “I thought you were another mer! Clint! You deceiving little-”

 

“Alright, no need to go there!” Clint cut you off. “Coulson, this is (Y/N) (L/N). And (Y/N), well, you’ve already figure out who he is: Phil Coulson.”

 

“Nice to meet you, miss,” Coulson said, sticking his hand out. You shook the water off your hand the best you could before returning the handshake. “I doubt Clint has told you this, but I work for the Seafolk and Human Interactions, Education and Living Division. Or, SHIELD. We specialize in ensure humans and mers get along nicely. The annual Royal Festival of Wakanda is just one event where we do so. Granted, their culture was always more accepting towards merfolk, we just help it run smoother.”

 

Fascinated, you started asking him all kinds of questions. Who knew when he’d have to take off? Gone was your fear of drowning a human with your voice, at least for the moment. You definitely had no need to sing right now, and doubted you would the rest of the night.

 

He told you that they had a special program just for “superpowered” mers, as he put it. They teamed up with those willing to take down bad guys. Bad guys who had ships, spent time near the ocean, or even if they teamed up with a few humans to lure them to the beach and the mer took care of the rest. He assured results had shown it helped mers feel better about their more killer skills, and was carefully thought through.

 

“So, Miss, (L/N), will you consider joining our team?” he questioned.

 

“I’d be honored to,” you answered.

 

He smiled at you. “Great. Now, I should grab some more information for you. I’ll try not be get too sidetracked. Feel free to converse with others while I’m gone.” He turned and disappeared in the crowd. Taking up his advice, as Clint left a while ago to talk to Nat, you wandered around to find someone else.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Peter walked behind his captains as they approached the dock. It was swarming with people. He wasn’t sure why they were here. All that he had explained to him was that today was a traditional festival Wakanda held every year. Nobody told him what for, only what he had to be there, along with the rest of the crew.

 

All kinds of people were there, or rather, all the tribes were there. He also saw other foreigners, like their crew. Just here and there, and few enough for him to realize that Wakanda only let extremely trusted outsiders in, and it was an honor to be there. No wonder they kept a reputation for being a third-world country. When only a handful of people- who could be trusted not to blabber all their secrets- knew it wasn’t one, it was easy to do so.

 

He saw a few scattered around the dock, some in clusters, some not. He saw one white man making his way around the ranks of people, seeming to hold conversations with everyone but still moving quickly. He turned and started talking to T’Challa and the mermaid with a green tail. “This way, kid,” Tony said, redirecting his attention.

 

Peter’s head snapped back. “Aye aye, cap’n.”

 

Tony sighed. “Why is that everyone’s first reaction to me giving orders?” They continued their way through the swarm of people until they came across the banquet table. “Alright, stay in this area, okay? I’m hungry, so I’ll be here. Don’t wander off too far or you’ll get stuck.”

 

Peter confirmed he heard, and wandered off. He was wary about the mers. Everyone said they were evil creatures. Why did Wakanda interact with them so freely, then? He guessed it was in his best judgement to trust T’Challa. Seeing a quieter, shady spot by some trees, he walked over. Nobody was around; it was secluded and conveniently out of sight but not too far away from the banquet table to get yelled at. He sat down, admiring the water rippling in the sunset.

 

Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear anyone approaching until they spoke. “Hello?” the voice called out, startling him. He looked around before looking down and realizing it was a mermaid in the water. Well, actually two mermaids. One with brown hair and a red tail. The other had (H/C) hair with a (F/C) tail and looked about his age.

 

The red tailed one appeared to be restraining the other girl. “I noticed my friend here getting nervous when looking at you, so I’m assuming that means she thinks you’re cute and wouldn’t dare approach herself. So here you go.” She rounded on her friend. “I’ll know if you leave because,” she tapped her own head,” from now on I’m going to peek in more than usual. No funny business. You leave, I’m sending both Pietro and Clint after you.” Her friend gulped and nodded quickly. Satisfied, the red tailed girl turned and left.

 

“Uh,” the girl voiced. A slow turn let her face Peter. They made eye contact and memories came flooding back. He knew who this was. This was the siren that fateful day only a week or so ago. She looked as shocked as Peter felt. “Uh- I’m- uh- goodness gracious I’m bad at this. Sorry?” she said, but it came out as more of a question than a statement. She shook her head and started over. “Sorry for almost drowning you?” she offered again, still in a questioning tone.

 

Peter couldn’t believe his eyes. She was in front of him. He hadn’t imagined it. Her semi-question confirmed it. All caution towards the possibility of getting Siren Sickness again flew out the window. “You didn’t though,” Peter answered. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

She laughed softly. “Yeah, I guess so. I’m so sorry about the incident! It was my first sinking and there were so many expectations and I didn’t think it’d be someone my age. I thought it would be a grumpy old sailor dude who would’ve been better off gone but then it was-”

 

“Woah woah woah,” Peter cut her off. “No need to get in a hassle. I understand peer pressure and all that jazz. I just joined the crew the last time they stopped at my hometown a few months ago.”

 

She let out a breath of relief. “Thanks for understanding.” Peter gave a slight nod in response. “Oh, uh, I’m (Y/N), by the way.”

 

Peter smiled. Trying to avoid a cheesy comment, he instead said, “I”m Peter.” She smiled back at him. They launched into a conversation full of stutters, blushes, and lots of apologies. But Peter  didn’t mind. In fact, he could feel himself slowly falling for this girl. Who’d have guessed? And he was sure it was real feelings this time, unlike the ship incident. She wasn’t singing, after all, no matter how melodic her voice sounded.

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?!?!” an angry yell overpowered their conversation. Oh no. Peter knew just who this was. He mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to (Y/N) before he felt a hand grab him by the collar and spin him around. Tony reared on the mermaid. “I don’t want to see you near him ever again!”

 

He ignored Peter’s protests and dragged him away. All the while, he was scolding him. “This is exactly what I was worried about! We need you, we can’t let you get sick again! How could you so carelessly do that?! The exact mer that hurt you!” He kept ranting, pulling him away.

 

Peter protested as they made their way through the crowd, hoping that someone might help him out. “But I’m fine! See?! We were perfectly fine and you ruined a great conversation! She told me she wasn’t targeting me and she regretted it!” His shouts fell on deaf ears (quite literally, when he saw a merman with a purple tail signing out of the corner of his eye).

 

Tony eventually stopped in front of Shuri. “I need you to check up on him again. He risked his life and I need to know he’s okay for tomorrow.”

 

Shuri looked in his eyes. “If you’re absolutely sure he needs it.”

 

“I’m sure.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry it’s been so long since the last update! I got caught up in writing other stuff (Cliche Costume Contest + a few blurbs for those who haven’t read them yet). To make up for it here is an entirely Peter focused chapter. It took me sooo long to write the action scene, so I hope you guys like it! Enjoy!

Peter’s heart was ripped out. Simultaneously, he felt refreshed and new. They were finally out on the ocean again. Back to regular pirate duties. But his heart was stranded on the shoreline of Wakanda. He left it in the spot he officially met (Y/N). And he knew- oh, man, he knew- that it would probably stay there for the rest of this life.

 

He sat up in the crows nest, supposedly watching for any other ships or danger. In reality, he got lost in his thoughts. After Shuri deemed him okay, he was sent to bed like a misbehaving toddler and the next day they took off. He wasn’t the happiest around the rest of the crew, but he sure was glad he could get away from everything for the moment. They would be on the water for the next few months, as they crossed the Marvel Ocean again; this time towards Sokovia for a deal with some other pirate ship. Or so he was told. Peter was sure it was going to be a while before Tony trusted him not to run off into harm’s way for a while.

 

Even the Falcon’s teasing couldn’t bring him out of his thoughts, and the man eventually gave up. No use in talking to a non-responsive sponge. They sat in silence, though Sam paid much more attention than Peter.

 

Eventually, Sam broke the silence. “Hey kid, you’re kinda scaring me. Usually, you take after Tony and never shut up but I haven’t heard you talk once since breakfast.” He looked over at him. He had curled his legs into his body and wrapped his arms around them, head on top, looking out into the vast blue.

 

At Sam’s words, he glanced over before looking back. “I don’t feel like talking right now,” he replied.

 

Sam shrugged. “If it suits you.” Peter was glad when Sam turned back to the ocean. When Bucky walked below deck, he heard Sam start to shout various passive-aggressive comments. It never was a dull moment with those two. But he wasn’t interested this time. Not much was going to get him out of his head.

 

Little did Peter know, they were not crossing the Marvel Ocean to make a deal. They were crossing to take down a pirate ship: the SS Kaufmann. It was part of a bigger fleet called HYDRA that was up to no good- at least where the SS Avengers were concerned. The fleet was led by a pirate known as Strucker. Originally from Sokovia, he worked on human experimentation, which led to them releasing whatever chemicals “didn’t work” into the ocean.

 

Over time, the correct combination emerged for what he wanted. But he never knew about it; it was in the ocean, giving all the mers off the coast powers. Thus, the Maximoff twins. There were naturally occurring powers amongst the mers, but the spill brought in scores of them- well, the ones that survived the chemicals, that is.

 

Strucker had made his getaway on a ship once the government discovered his actions, vowing to become a pirate to not get caught, and it gave him more range over what he could do. Not only could he continue what he was doing, but he could also take down other pirate ships. He particularly chose the SS Avengers. They were after him so they could regain deals that had been stolen by HYDRA. They didn’t know about the other stuff Strucker had done- not yet, at least- and it didn’t matter all that much. There were other groups dealing with that. Currently, both groups were headed right for Strucker, not that they knew. But Strucker had a clue they were, and they were in for quite the treat when they arrived.

 

Eventually, Tony called Peter and Sam down to the deck. “We’re going to have a crew meeting,” he announced loudly. He turned to Peter menacingly. “And you,” he pointed an accusing finger at him, “are going to swab the deck while we do so.”

 

Peter’s jaw dropped, even though he expected it. It was hard to build Tony’s trust, and you were screwed if you betrayed that trust. Peter’s case was small in comparison to Stark’s past experiences, but they wouldn’t be on good terms for a long while.

 

“Fine,” he mumbled, grabbing the nearest mop. The hands filed away, leaving Peter to sulk while he spread the dirt around the bow. The fresh air felt nice and all, but this just rubbed salt into a wound.

 

A while later, the crew came back out and set back to their regular duties. Conditions stayed same through the next day and a half. Spider-Man and Falcon once again sat in the crow’s nest when a ship came into view. “Sail ho!” Sam called out, swooping out of the nest and down to the deck. Peter, unsure of what happened, quickly crawled his way down.

 

“Avengers Assemble! All hands to stations!” Captain America called out. The whole crew, knowing what to do, raced around, gathering weapons and cannons, and getting into position. Peter whipped around, vexed and perplexed about the situation.

 

“Will somebody please explain to me what’s going on?” he called out. The hands ignored him, going about their assignments. Someone shoved a small dagger into his hands when they sped by, but that was it.

 

Thankfully, Bruce came to the rescue. He gave him a quick rundown about why they were attacking Strucker at the moment (securing a deal) and nothing about the past. He got whisked away, and Peter was sent back to the crow’s nest “for his safety.” Nobody wanted the responsibility if the teenager’s status changed to KIA.

 

Peter sat down, the noise on the deck and below it shrinking from a roar to an ominous grumble. He knew for a fact Rhodey would be preparing cannons right now with a few other crew members. Falcon, on a fighting top. The co-captains stood on the stern of the ship, looking fierce. Peter could easily see how the names Captain America and Iron Man struck fear into the hearts of other pirates, much like the iron weapon that once struck Tony’s chest.

 

The SS Kaufmann loomed closer. Their crew ran about, just as busy as the Avenger’s deck. The water churned eerily like it was expecting to feed on one of the two ships in a moment’s notice. The ships drew near each other, expecting a fight to commence any second.

 

Once the ship’s starboard faced their port, a call of “fire in the hole,” could be heard and cannons opened fire; the SS Kaufmann crew swung over onto the deck of the SS Avengers. A few had cutlasses, some belaying pins, and more.

 

Immediately, fighting broke out across the deck. Metal against metal, clinging ringing through the air. The crew spread out, defending themselves, all representing their reputations clearly. Sam darted around quickly, using some ropes to swing himself between opponents, looking like a falcon flying through the air. Oftentimes quiet Bruce had made his way onto the SS Kaufmann, turning it into a hulk by slowly destructing it. Who knew he had it in him?  And that was just the start of it all. Other Avengers followed him to the SS Kaufmann.

 

The crew of the SS Kaufmann proved themselves a mighty foe. They kept up with the Avengers easily, strike for strike. Peter peered over the edge. The fingers connected to his non-dagger hand twitched, eager, but no clear opening into the fight presented itself. He waited, eyes sharp and awareness heightened.

 

The total-cloud coverage cast odd shadows, making the fight look more like something out of a tall tale than a live event. But still, Peter watched. Individual shouts which rose above the grumble made it hard to concentrate on one specific thing. A shout from the stern caught his attention. Stark and Rogers engaged in a two-on-one fist fight with Strucker. Cannonballs sailed through the air, most missing and, instead, hitting the water. The resulting splashes doused the decks, drawing the fight amidship. Blunderbuss shots rang through the air, running out quickly.

 

Another shout and he turned towards the bow. A Kaufmann keeled over in pain. Hope slashed her cutlass with precision, taking pirates down as she went. “Remember dead men tell no tales!” someone roared above the noise. “Plow the men down!”

 

Yet another shout and Peter started to turn. But then a voice called out- far too close for his liking. “Now what do we have here?” it crooned. “Why, it must be the young lad, hidin’ for his life.” A quick glance showed Peter a Kaufmann, climbing up to the crow’s nest.

 

He was stuck. Dead end.

 

Thinking quickly, he remembered the dagger in his hand. He placed it between his teeth and swung over the edge onto the ropes. Channeling his inner spider, he raced down, trying to stay opposite of where the Kaufmann headed. “Oh no, ye don’t!” the pirate hollered. His teeth, bright yellow, gleamed despite the low light.

 

Before he could help it, they were even.

 

They reached for weapons at the same time. Peter: his dagger. Yellow Teeth: a dirk. The fight looked in favor of Peter. He was younger, more agile and his blade was double-sided, not just single-sided. But then again, the pirate had experience, was stronger, and most definitely knew what was going on. So maybe not.

 

Yellow Teeth lunged. Peter leaned back. He swayed, and grasped onto the rope tighter. It might give him rope burn later, but what mattered was staying alive. _Aim for the fingers,_ he thought.

 

Peter lunged. The pirate blocked with his arm. Peter moved downward. The closer to the ground, the less likely to get killed. He slashed at the legs. Yellow Teeth lifted his feet; he moved even with Peter.

 

Yellow Teeth jabbed at Peter’s thigh. He barely stopped the blade with his own blade. Using all his strength, he pressed against the resistance and lifted both their arms slowly. The pirate’s side now open, Peter lifted his legs and kicked him. He bounced right back. “Now, listen here, laddie. Yer not gettin’ away easy.”

 

Again, Peter scrambled down. He hung about halfway down now. Still too high. He’d heard the stories of sailor slipping down the crow’s nest and dying. He didn’t want to join those stories.

 

Yellow Teeth kept just on his tail. They continued to spar, blade on blade. Bit by bit, they made their way down the rope. A lunge, a duck, a block, a swing. It kept on coming and wouldn’t stop. Closer to the bottom; closer to the edge of the rope ladder.

 

Yellow Teeth pushed. Peter tumbled. One second, both hands grasped the rope. The next, he slipped down. Peter’s heart dropped as he struggled to hold on. _No,_ he thought. _No no no no no._ He watched the pirate smile, rotten teeth on display. “G’bye, little laddie.”

 

He raised his foot. Peter- realizing he still had his dagger- raised his hand. When the foot crushed his hand, he jabbed his dagger into it. His fingers, forced off the rope, let go.

 

Yellow Teeth howled, loud and strong. He lifted his foot, forcing Peter to abandon his dagger. His fingers slipped off it, one by one. Unable to get a steady grip on anything, he fell.

 

Air rushed through his ears and clouded his senses, dimming the continuous clangs from cutlasses. It enveloped him like a blanket, but instead of warming him, it stung. Peter’s feet slipped from underneath him, turning him onto his back. His stomach turned while he dropped. Farther, faster, out of control. The rope was too far, then all too close. He hit its side and flipped, beginning to turn in circles. Nothing could stop it now.

 

Somersaulting through the air involuntarily, Peter caught glimpses of the fight. Not much- simply flashes of sunlight on blades or glimpses of the ocean churning. Soon, it blurred together. He didn't know how long he had until impact. Peter braced himself, waiting, waiting, waiting. He must have fallen higher than he thought if he was still falling. Or maybe he was falling in slow motion. (But that seemed preposterous.)

 

 

THUD!

 

 

Peter hit the deck, pain shocking his senses. He couldn't hear anything but a sharp ringing. Everything was black. Was he dead or were his eyes closed? Did he pass out? He couldn't tell. It was hard to breathe. Peter didn’t even realize he had the wind knocked out of him until he gasped. Did the pain come from the impact or did something break? Again, hard to tell.

 

It all blurred together. He hoped nobody had their fight make their way towards him- that would guarantee injuries. He laid there, gasping like a fish out of water. Well, a grounded pirate isn’t much different, is it? If the fight ended yet, he couldn’t tell. Nothing stood out.

 

In the midst of the ringing, a faint cheering arose. His hearing started to come back. Cheering? Who was cheering? Why? Peter had no chance of getting up anytime soon. He had no way of figuring out. How long had he been lying there by now?

 

“Kid?” he heard, somewhere in the distance. “Hey, Pete, are you alright?” They sounded concerned. They sounded familiar. It almost sounded like…..

 

“Tony?” Peter gasped, struggling to talk. He still hadn’t caught his breath. Tony continued to ask questions, not that Peter heard any of them. All he could make out was mumbling. Something else broke through, louder than before. “Can you open your eyes? Is that doable?”

Oh. So he wasn’t dead. That was a good sign. Then, Peter realized his eyelids felt heavy. It took most of his remaining energy, but he managed.

 

The light, which previously had looked dim, now blinded Peter momentarily. He squinted while his vision came into focus. Tony knelt in front of him, and he laid on his side, arm underneath him. Tony’s face was riddled with small cuts and bruises. A frown graced his face, and his eyebrows furrowed.

 

“You took quite the fall there, lad. I glanced up right when you slipped. Had to have been at least fifteen feet.” Peter grunted in response. “I’m going to try to pick you up now. Is that okay?” Tony scooped him up when Peter repeated his actions.

 

“Alright, we gotta get you patched up.” With that, he took off for the sick bay.

 

* * *

 

The SS Avengers had lucked out when it came to time between their visit to Wakanda and the battle. Due to the temporary aligning, the crew had stocked up on more medicine and other supplies than they usually held.

 

Bruce made sure to work fast and efficiently, and soon enough, all the injured had been treated. All things considered, the turnout was good. No severe injuries besides Peter’s and one crew member who had a finger chopped off by a cutlass. The ship only had a few holes that needed fixing. They had been lucky this time around.

 

Peter’s arm hand broken in multiple places on impact and Bruce had set it with practiced ease. He sat on a chair, examining the new cast. Pirates are typically known for not being hygienic, but thanks to Wakanda all their medical supplies were brand new. The white bandages- held together by a wooden splint- should have been in a sling. Peter ignored that for the moment, deciding to put it on later.

 

After the adrenaline had left, Peter got to experience the full pain of multiple fractures. Earlier, his pain had been from the impact as much as the injury- or so Bruce told him. Here he sat, about half an hour later, pain from the impact gone and pure pain from the injury rolling in, with nothing to do about it. Of course, they could just give him some rum, but that just started a debate on whether or not to give a teenager alcohol- even if he was officially a pirate.

 

“So,” Tony said from where he was standing next to Peter. “You’re going to be on rest until we know it heals properly.” Peter opened his mouth to protest. “No buts!  You still have training to complete and it’s been postponed until you have full use of your arm again.”

 

He had a point. It being Peter’s dominant arm, the list of activities he could do decreased drastically. Silence filled the room, enveloping the space between mentor and mentee. Not stillness, for Bruce worked across the room on his next patient, talking in a low voice. Tony appeared deep in thought, his eyebrows once again furrowed. “Look,” he said softly, breaking the silence, “I’m only going to say this once. Listen carefully. This kind of stuff isn’t what pirates are known for saying, so I’ll give it my best shot.”

 

Peter, confused about where this was headed, nodded. Tony continued, “I’m sorry about leaving you out of the informational meeting. We might not be here right now if you knew what was going on. That was a bad decision on my part. You deserve to know; it concerns your safety, after all.”

 

Peter’s eyes widened. “Uh, thank you, Captain. Apology accepted.” Tony patted him on the shoulder. “Does- does this mean I’m allowed into the next meeting?”

 

Tony chuckled. “Yes, this means you’re allowed in.”

 

Silence rang out again, though this time it settled more comfortably. Almost like a warm blanket. “Oh- and, uh- just so you know, I don’t blame you for what happened to me,” Peter looked up at Tony hesitantly. He gave a small, shy smile, attempting to reassure his mentor.

 

Tony smiled back. “You’ll go far one day, kid. Don’t forget that.” He clapped his hands, then proceeded to rub them together. “I’ve got some captain stuff I need to do.” He gestured over his shoulder to the stairs. “Get some rest.” Peter rolled his eyes but nodded, and off he went. Peter watched for a moment, sighed, and stood up, headed for his quarters.

 

True to his promise, the following day Peter was included in the meeting. They made sure to go over who Strucker was, why they fought him, and a brief overview of the battle.

 

“We sunk the Kaufmann,” Steve explained, “which is good. On the other hand-” The crew threw glances at each other. They had won, hadn’t they? What could possibly be bad news? “-Strucker somehow got away. We’re not sure how. The Kaufmann sunk and his crew is dead. Still, he got away in the chaos. We’ll continue with our plan to attack the rest of the HYDRA fleet.”

 

Someone said, “Great, all the celebration rum was wasted for not,” to which someone else responded, “Rum can’t be wasted unless it’s not drunk,” but Peter paid it no attention. There were bigger problems at hand.

 

Fleet? Got away? Oh, boy, were they in for some trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for not updating this sooner and without an official hiatus! Originally, I was going to write for a Christmas present but I discovered I was in over my head and stopped. For a bit, I was writing but it was all the Christmas-related imagines I have posted. Next thing I knew, I'm 3 weeks into Semester 2 and homework is once again kicking my butt. Anyway, I finally reread Part 6 and got to writing this one. To make up for it, try to spot the cameo. I hope this makes up for my absence. I honestly can't say how sorry I am about that. And...this is getting too long. I'll stop now. Enjoy!

Turns out, work is a great distraction from pain. While you felt genuinely upset about not being able to see Peter, Coulson and Clint had launched you into SHIELD right away. No sooner than the pirate had dragged Peter away, Clint had found you again and dragged you away to restart your conversation with Coulson.

 

Training had been mostly easy, and soon enough, Nat admitted she joined some time after Clint and agreed to train you again. Thankfully, all hard feelings due to the first sinking vanished with a good talk and your relationship went back to the way it was beforehand. Then, of course, it got harder due to her pushing you to fulfill your full potential.

 

The assignments from SHIELD started not too long later. At first, you had another mer assigned alongside you to help guide, but once they knew you got the gist of it, they started giving you solo missions mixed in. Currently, you sat in a meeting, learning the credentials of your next mission. 

 

“This is crucial to a network of other missions right now,” your handler, Maria Hill, explained. “It won’t necessarily ruin everything if you fail, but in order to continue in the right direction, we need you this mission to be successful.” She swam around the room, looking as stern as the day you met her. “Do you understand?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” came the reply from you and a few others. 

 

“Good.” She passed out some folders, which you quickly opened. Inside, a picture of a ship sat in one corner. The rest of the pages covered all background info on the crew, and all collected information on the captain. 

 

Hill spoke again, drawing your eyes towards the front again. “What you are looking at is  _ The Poisoned Plunder.  _ It’s part of a fleet named Hydra. Background on that will be in the folders. We’ve teamed up with our land counterparts to take down Hydra’s Commodore Wolfgang von Strucker. He’s been up to no good both on land and in the ocean.”

 

She proceeded to go into a deeper explanation. While she did so, you took a good look at the ship. It looked intimidating- but that was probably the point. You were to take it down by yourself once the meeting was over. Everyone else here was involved with either the other ships or behind-the-scenes. 

 

“This will be put into action immediately. Head straight to your stations. Dismissed.” Everyone departed, going their different ways. You were nearly out the door when “(Y/L/N)” broke through the noise. Halting, you turned around and headed back.

 

“Yes ma’am?” you asked.

 

“I know you’re significantly younger than the average agent. I just want to let you know we have faith in you.” She looked you in the eye, hands clasped behind her back. “We picked you for a reason; don’t doubt it. You’ll do well, Agent.”

 

“Thank you.” She nodded, signaling you were dismissed as well. 

 

You exited the room, heading over to where Clint and Nat sat. Hopefully, this send-off will go better than the last. 

 

* * *

 

True to their word, Peter spent a large chunk of time cooped up in his quarters. “The sooner you heal, the sooner you can get back to work,” was repeated so many times, the crew was sure it was engraved into his head. They let him out for meals and meetings, which was nice. Better than nothing.

 

The ship had stopped on a nearby small island, Slovinia (not to be confused with Sokovia), for repairs. While they were docked, Steve learned from a local- an old man with glasses- that a part of the Hydra fleet was nearby. Some searching and Scott discovered it was  _ The Poisoned Plunder _ . Once out on the water again, a new plan was hatched to take it down. 

 

Peter hadn’t been allowed in the crow’s nest since the fight. This would be no different. As Tony put it, “You’ll be grounded for the next fight. And not in, like, an angsty teen way. More like a you’re-not-allowed-to-climb-on-anything way.” Though, he had warned him to try to stay out of the fight. He may have a cutlass this time, but he’d have to fight with his left arm.

 

The crew was better prepared when Sam yelled, “Sail ho!” Immediately, the deck bustled with action. The sun shone, reflecting off the water brightly. Much better conditions than last time.

 

It was now or never. “Fire!” 

 

BOOM! 

 

The fight has begun.

 

* * *

 

The water stilled when you came upon the ship. There it was, in all it’s infamous glory:  _ The Poisoned Plunder. _ Some of the hands wandered around the deck, doing as their captain ordered. 

 

You waited, watching for the opportune moment.  _ Not yet,  _ your instincts told you. Training had done its job. They seemed to be preparing for a fight. Uh oh. Not a good sign, but it might get you into better standings with SHIELD if whoever they were fighting was also a threat that needed taking down. Time to kill two birds with one stone. 

 

You held onto the sternpost, hoping that if that failed you’d be close enough to grab onto some barnacles on the keel. Slowly, the ship crept up on the other. It looked familiar, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. Oh well. You’d seen so many ships by now it was bound to happen. 

 

Once the ships started to face each other, you let go. Swimming to the side of the two ships, you readied yourself. This was for a good cause. You can do it. A deep breath and you started. The song was different from your first singing. Not only did it show your supervisors you were improving, but it also helped you steer clear of memories of that fateful event.

 

[“I dreamed](http://www.kinglaoghaire.com/lyrics/604-lowlands-away) a dream the other night  
Lowlands, Lowlands away my John  
I dreamed a dream the other night  
Lowlands away…”

 

Unfortunately, it seemed like nobody could hear you. The battle had commenced with cannon fire, and it appeared it wasn’t going to end anytime soon. At first, it was pure cannons and guns. Once the ships got closer, the crew of the  _ Poisoned Plunder _ boarded the other ship. Raising your voice, you continued. 

 

“I dreamt and saw my own true love  
Lowlands, Lowlands away my John  
I dreamt and saw my own true love  
Lowlands away….”

 

Still no reactions. You swam under the ship, avoiding falling cargo. If that side doesn’t work, maybe this one will. After all, it could just be a matter of where the pirates are standing and not noise. 

 

“I dreamt my love was drowned and dead  
Lowlands, Lowlands away my John  
I dreamt my love was drowned and dead  
Lowlands away.”

 

It was no use. Nobody could hear you, and no storm was brewing over the ships- that was certain. You were too distracted. You stayed, determining that you could at least bring back useful information for SHIELD to use later.  

 

Glancing at the ships, a figure here and there stood out. You must’ve seen this ship before! Why else would everything was recognizable? The pirates continued to fight each other. Strucker was easy to find- he was stuck in some kind of 2-on-1 fight. Some crew members swung around on ropes, using cutlasses. Others fought with fists.

 

That’s when you saw him.

 

Peter.

 

He was fighting an obviously older pirate. His right arm cradled to his chest, attempting to fight with a cutlass in his left. It was wrapped. He was injured. He was here. His curls dangled in his face, making you wonder how he could see anything. He was struggling. He was losing.

 

Everything clicked. Peter was  _ here.  _ That meant that this was the SS Avengers that the Poisoned Plunder was fighting. It wasn’t bad guy against bad guy, per se. It was bad guy against possible allies. You  _ had  _ to tell Hill once this was over. 

 

Why was Peter injured? How did it happen? How long has he been injured? The festival couldn’t have been too long ago, could it? Why wasn’t anyone helping him? He clearly was struggling. 

 

Peter carelessly switched his sword to his right arm. He raised his hand, and, while the other pirate ducked an incoming barrel, struck him in the head with the hilt. 

 

The pirate was down in seconds. The fight was clearing, and Peter looked around for his next fight (foolish boy) when he spotted you. He gasped and raced to the edge of the ship.

 

“(Y/N)!” he called out. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I was sent to sink the Poisoned Plunder,” you answered truthfully. 

 

“You need to leave! Before one of them sees you and tries to kill you!”

 

“Kill me? You’re the one that’s fighting against them!” 

 

He frowned, taking your response into consideration. “We can talk afterward. If you can hang on that long. I want to talk to you.”

 

You nodded in agreement and waited. The fight didn’t last too long after that. The Avengers made quick work of the HYDRA crew. The sea swallowed the Poisoned Plunder but the victory did not bring cheers.

 

“How did he get away  _ again _ ?!” you heard a voice cry. It sounded like the man who had dragged Peter away from you. “This is beyond securing a deal now. He needs to stop fleeing and face me like the pirate he claims to be!”

 

The crew gave their agreements to that. “We need to regroup. Team meeting, Captain’s quarters. Now,” another voice called out. Well then. Your arrival back at SHIELD was going to be much later than planned. Hopefully, you wouldn’t get in too much trouble.

 

You swam your way around the ship to the Captain’s Quarters window. If you listened hard enough, maybe you could overhear information.

 

No such luck. Tony had done a good job at reinforcing his windows, not that you knew. Not that you knew the chaos happening inside said room at that exact time, either. 

 

* * *

  
  


“YOU WHAT!?” Tony screamed at Peter. Peter ducked his head and took a step closer to Thor. 

 

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal! I saw her at the festival and I’m perfectly fine! I just thought that maybe if I could talk to her after this I could get more information for the crew. You know, find out why she’s after Strucker and how we fit in.” 

 

Tony sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. The team watched, partially amused. It was hard to tell if Tony was being overprotective because of safety reasons or if it was because he didn’t want Peter having girl issues. Just 6 months ago, if you had told any of them they’d watch their captain freak out over his son/mentee-figure, they would’ve laughed in your face. Oh, how things change. 

 

“No. I don’t want you meeting up with her again. How can you be so sure she won’t try to kill you again?”

 

“Uh...maybe because she was at the festival and I’ve talked to her?” Peter tried.

 

Tony shook his head. “We need to make absolutely sure that you won’t get Siren Sickness again. The last time we had Shuri treat you but she’s not here now. We have no way of knowing whether or not it’ll happen.”

 

“But-”

 

“No. Your arm is still healing, anyway.” 

 

“He’s got a point, kid,” Steve agreed. “We have no way of knowing. And I think it’s safe to say we’d all feel better if you didn’t have to fight with a broken arm again. We don’t need you dying on us.” 

 

Peter pouted but followed as Thor put his arm around him and lead him out of the room. As they left, he could hear the crew starting to argue again. “It’s not my fault Strucker got away! I was down! So  _ technically _ , it’s  _ your _ fault!” ringing out the loudest. 

 

Thor chuckled when Peter asked, “Do they never  _ not  _ fight?” 

 

“They do, young Spider. Just usually not after battles. Now, how would you like for me to keep you company with another story of my brother and me?

 

Peter perked up. “Yes, please,” he said eagerly. 

 

* * *

  
  


You watched as Peter was lead but a muscular, blond man down to the lower deck. Nobody followed. Oh. Did he forget? You waited just to make sure. The rest of the crew eventually came out and started up their normal activities. Maybe he did forget.

 

You sighed and dove back into the water. At least you got to see him again. But did he forget about you? Or did his crew drag him away again? Your hands clenched at the thought. On top of that, you weren’t able to get extra information as you hoped. Now you had no excuse for your late arrival. Oh boy were you going to be in trouble now. 

 

Great. Just great. And Hill said she had faith in you. You let them down. You were always letting people down. Why couldn’t you just succeed at something for once in your life? At this rate, it would do good to just assume you were going to fail now. No need to get your hopes up. No need to get anyone’s hopes up. Great. Juusstt great. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up? I'm back with the next part! School and extracurriculars (yay softball!) have swamped me and I haven't really had any time to work on this between the last time I updated and this week. Speaking of which, it's Spring Break for me! Part 8 might come out before the end of the week, but no promises. Enjoy! Comments and Kudos are appreciated!

“You’re telling me that you talked to a pirate, made an agreement to talk, and he never showed up?” Hill questioned you.

 

“Uh...yeah. That’s exactly what I just said.” You fidgeted in your seat. 

 

“Are you sure he didn’t do that so the crew could follow you so they could capture more mermaids?” 

 

You looked up, dead serious. “I met him at the festival- however long ago that was- when I got recruited. I don’t think an enemy of mermaids would be actively interacting with them at something like that.”

 

Hill crossed her arms. “We need to make sure. The wrong people find out about SHIELD and we’re down. We can’t afford that. We’re too close to taking down Strucker for that.”

 

“I understand that. I’ve been through training,” you grumbled. “Can’t you take my word for it? You said you had faith in me before I left.”  _ Don’t take it back now _ , you thought. 

 

Hill sighed. “I’ll run it by Coulson- see what he knows. It’s likely to match up, we just need the reassurance. Until then, you’re stuck on training. We don’t know how long it will take to track down Strucker this time. He’ll be aware that someone’s after him by now. Dismissed.”

 

You swam out of the room with a huff. Swimming without really paying attention to where you were going, your subconscious brought you to Clint’s house. He saw you approaching and stuck his head out. “Hey! How’s my favorite siren doing?” He smiled, then added on, “Don’t tell Nat I said that.”

 

He invited you in and you sat down. On the table was one of his bows and a quiver. He must have been leaving for a mission soon. “Not so great,” you said truthfully. “I feel like Hill doesn’t trust me even though she said herself that she had faith in me earlier. Why would she do that?”

 

Clint looked up from the drawer he was searching through. “Did your mission go wrong? Because in my experience, she only gets like that when a mission goes wrong.”

 

“So too often for you and Nat.”

 

“Hey!” He put his hand on his chest, grabbing a wire. “Our missions may not go according to plan but we usually get everything done.” 

 

“Sure.” He swam over, rolling up the string and putting it in a small compartment in the quiver. He shook his head at you mockingly and shoved your shoulder as he passed by again. 

 

“Sure to me never doing anything right or sure to that being the reason why Maria’s off?”

 

“Uh...both. Both are good.” 

 

He shoved your shoulder again and sat down across from you. “What exactly happened? Spare no details. Unless it’s, like, ultra graphic. I don’t need that in my brain. I’ve had my share with how long I’ve been at SHIELD.”

 

With that, you launched into another retelling of what happened. And, like he said, you spared no detail, including the happiness you felt when you saw Peter, the concern when you noticed he was fighting, and the feelings his not returning brought. You hadn’t sorted that out and it would probably take a few nights staying up overthinking to do so. 

 

Clint listened patiently, the corners of his mouth threatening a frown. Once you finished, he stayed silent, gathering his thoughts. He drummed his fingers on the table as he thought. Nodding his head to himself, he also glanced around the room before his eyes fell on you again. “Now, you’re not going to like what I’m about to say,” he warned, “but I think you should listen to Maria on this one.”

 

_ Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.  _

 

The steady metronome of his fingers combined with his words and you scowled. He was right; you didn’t like his advice. You tried to stand but Clint’s hand shot out and pulled you back down. 

 

“Nope. You’re not allowed to ask for my advice and leave because you don’t like it.”

 

You huffed. “Nobugtsit,” you mumbled to yourself. Your eyes focused on his hand, which was s _ till  _ clacking away on the furniture. It didn’t stop you from catching his expression. 

 

“What was that?” Clint tilted his head, looking a bit like one of those land creatures he seemed to adore. What was it again? A puppy. Except he didn’t look over eager and curious- he looked ready to pry your thoughts from your head. 

 

“Nobody gets it,” you said slightly louder. You could’ve sworn you saw Clint’s face flicker with something, but it was gone before you could decipher it. You opened your mouth to explain and the words tumbled out one after the other like a waterfall you once happened upon. “Sure, mer-human interaction is more common than they let the public believe, but that’s all platonic stuff. Or business stuff, ugh.

 

“The thing is, it’s not platonic. Well, maybe not exactly but it’s on its way. And nobody wants to take me seriously. It’s not just a crush- he likes me back! But all I get is ‘no, it won’t work’ and ‘you’re just a kid’. Everyone’s fine with teen mers dating but suddenly it’s oh so wrong because he’s not a mer. I’m [age] years old! I’m old enough to make my own decisions! I decided to join SHIELD but I can’t decide if I like a human or not? Get off my back! I know Peter and I know myself. We can handle it just fine! 

 

“Okay, yeah, he’s a pirate but he’s the sweetest person I know! He’s genuine and he loves what he’s doing and his crew can’t be that bad if they’re trying to take down Strucker, too! Is it really such a bad thing that we aren’t the same species? Newsflash, it’s not like that’s anything new in nature, either. If it lasts as long as I hope, then we can just get a sorcerer or something involved. We can cross that bridge when we get there. It really isn’t as big as a deal as everyone is trying to make it out to be to me! 

 

“On top of that, I’m mad at him! He didn’t keep his part of the deal! He said he’d meet up with me and he just walked right past me like I didn’t exist! He broke his promise! He doesn’t do that but he just did! It’ll be fine in the long run as long as this doesn’t happen again but Hill’s deal makes it impossible for me to do so! UGH! 

 

“And  _ stop  _ with the finger drumming! It’s getting on my nerves!” You slammed your hand down on top of his with your final words, effectively quieting it.

 

Clint’s eyes widened and his mouth parted. Your stomach turned, your own eyes widening. You shot out of your seat. “I shouldn’t have said anything. See you, Clinton.” You were out the door before he could blink, leaving him to stare at your now empty 

 

* * *

 

Stupid stupid stupid.

 

All Clint had done ask that you take his advice seriously and you snapped at him. You didn’t even snap at him related to what he was going to give you advice on. You closed your eyes and dragged your hand down your face. This is not going well at all. 

 

All Hill and Clint were saying was to stay away from Peter for a bit while things got sorted out. Clint wasn’t questioning your maturity levels or if you were capable of handling a relationship with Peter- though he definitely had a reason to do so now. 

 

The stress must be getting to you. You paced back and forth on a familiar patch of coral reef. Joining SHIELD was a bad idea. Too much pressure to do well. Too much pressure on yourself about Peter. Too much pressure to show your maturity. Too much pressure to show you could handle it. Too much pressure, too much pressure, too much pressure. And you failed. Again.

 

That seemed to be the reoccurring theme ever since you met Peter. Fail. Scrape something together. Fail harder. Pick up more pieces. Fail fail fail fail fail fail fail fail fail fail fail fail fail-

 

Deep breath. In. Out. It’s not Peter’s fault. It’s not your fault. It’s just the timing. It’s not Clint’s fault. It’s not Nat’s fault. In and out. Okay, so maybe your emotional maturity wasn’t as high as you had thought. That can be improved. Remember what Nakia taught you.

 

Nakia--

 

You needed to get in touch with Nakia. She was due for a visit from you and she provided a new outside look. So outside, considering she lived closer to Wakanda. Maybe things were different there- she would have a different culture to pull advice from. Maybe your situation wasn’t as isolated as it seemed. You could only hope. 

 

Leaving a quick note in case Wanda comes to find you later, you took off for a small cave in the middle of nowhere.

 

* * *

 

Peter woke with a start, sweat dripping down his face. The ship swayed dangerously with the waves but he hardly noticed.  _ He forgot his end of the deal. _ Leave it to the middle of the night days later for him to remember. Oh, (Y/N) wasn’t going to trust him now. 

 

Things had gotten hectic aboard the SS Avengers. After Thor had spun a tale of him, his brother, a snake, and a knife, the crew had disjoined and regular duties called. For everyone else, that is. Peter stayed cooped up once again, making sure he didn’t have Siren Sickness. 

 

It was outright  _ ridiculous  _ that they thought he stood a chance of getting it again. They’d talked- what, 2, 3 times now and he hadn’t gotten it. After the first time, he  _ did _ have it, technically. The second, Shuri gave him another dose. Hmmpf. So maybe they did have no basis to believe otherwise. 

 

But Peter was fine. He was  _ fine.  _ The only thing that could be counted symptom-like was how much he wanted to see (Y/N) again. That was hardly related- he’d been wanting to talk to her 24/7 ever since they talked in Wakanda.

 

Tony was still cautious. They were trying to figure out where Strucker was again- no easy task. Since Peter hadn’t left the cabin thanks to Tony, he had absolutely no way to contact (Y/N). As a result, he had no way to know if she knew where Strucker was- or whoever had sent her to The Poisoned Plunder knew. They sat at square one. 

 

The ship lurched to one side. Peter’s stomach jumped to his mouth. Now he noticed the swaying. Nothing was worse than a broken arm, sea sickness, and Siren Sickness precautions all at once. 

 

Peter clambered out of bed and reached for the first bucket he could find. After spilling his guts, he leaned his head on his hand and took a few deep breaths. A hand touched his back gently and started rubbing. “You good there, kid?” a familiar voice asked.

 

“Jus’ the waves,” he mumbled back. 

 

“Hmm.” The hand stopped rubbing and patted him a few times. “If that’s the case, I think a drink and some sleep will help. C’mon, up you go.” With Tony’s help, Peter stood and a few minutes later he was back in bed. “No dreaming about mermaids,” Tony joked.

 

“No promises. Maybe I’ll dream about you as a merman,” Peter joked back.

 

A soft laugh and then a “Get some sleep, Pete,” along with some rustles alerted Peter that Tony settled back into bed himself. 

  
_ As soon as he clears me _ , Peter thought,  _ I’m gonna find a way to contact (Y/N) and apologize. _ Before he knew it, he drifted off. 


End file.
